The present invention relates to a miniature theatre. More particularly, the present invention relates to a theatre for hand actuated puppets or marionettes which is readily assembled within a door opening and is well suited for use by children.
Puppet theatres enhance the theatrical experience enjoyed by puppeteers and audience alike. This is particularly the case with puppet theatres primarily intended to be used by children. A stage or theatre can focus attention on the characters of the play and reduce distractions from the performance by, for example, concealing the puppeteer and providing a backdrop setting of suitable scenery. A good puppet theatre generally enhances the entertainment value of the performance.
Miniature theatres are known in the patent literature. For example, a doorway puppet stage is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,834,150 which issued May 13, 1958 to White. Other puppet or marionette theatres are shown in U.S. Pats. Nos. 2,705,386, Apr. 5, 1955 to Bertram; 2,837,863, June 10, 1958 to Duvall; 3,839,816, Oct. 8, 1974 to Fischereder; 3,899,168, Aug. 12, 1975 to Besherse and 4,137,665, Feb. 6, 1979 to Bierwiler. A toy theatre is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,368,188, Jan 30, 1984 to Wise.
Although miniature theatres are known, there remains a need for a truly portable miniature theatre which can be economically manufactured and yet which can be readily set up in a conventional doorway without damaging the doorway when used by children. It would also be advantageous if a miniature theatre could be provided which breaks down into a small package for shipping or storage and which is well suited for shipping without damage. It also would be desirable to provide a miniature theatre readily adapted for use by children of varying sizes.
Accordingly, the present invention provides such a miniature theatre which is well suited for use by children or even adults. The theatre of the present invention provides a stage for puppets or marionettes or other miniature figures. The present invention provides a theatre which can be economically manufactured and which can be used by puppeteers of small or large size. The theatre can be easily stored, shipped, or carried by a child to a playmate's home whereupon the theatre can be readily assembled for use and disassembled for storage or transport. Furthermore, the theatre has provision for backdrops which can be created by the puppeteer or premanufactured and for a lighting arrangement to more realistically simulate a real theatre. These and other advantages of the present invention will be understood from the following disclosure.